Refrigerator rack



June 25, 1935- d. L. HIBBARD, JR

REFRIGERATOR RACK Filed May 13, 1953 m. M. A i Q Patented June 25,- 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR RACK Charles L. Hibbai'd, Jr., Brookline, Mass., assignor to Old Colony Distributing Company, Inc., Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 13, 1933, Serial No. 670,853

3 Claims.

The presence of bottles in a cooling chamberis a source of considerable annoyance, not only because they take up much space, but more especially because of their liability to tip over and the fact that frequently the spacing-of the shelves is such that they can be placed in an upright position only with some difliculty. The invention is especially concerned with this problemfand it aims to devise an apparatus for supporting bottles in a refrigerator in such a manner that their interference with other articles in the food chamher will be minimized. It is also an object of the invention to, devise an article of this character which will hold bottles in a definite and fixed position in the refrigerator and which can be used in' practically any of the more common refrigerator constructions.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawmg, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

' In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a refrigerator showing the food compartment or cooling chamber open, and illustrating a rack embodying this invention properly located in said chamber;

Fig. 2 is an angular View of the rack above mentioned;

Fig. 3 is a side view of said rock; and

Fig. 4 is an end view of the rack.

Referring more especially to Figs. 2, 3 and-4, it will be seen that the rackthere shown is provided with two pockets orcradle-like recesses each adapted to receive a bottle and to support it in a reclining position. 'Dne such bottle is indicated in dotted lines at B, Fig. 3. Preferably the rack is made of wire elements or members. As shown, it comprises three curved wires 2, 3 and 4 bent to form two adjacent curved portions and all 0 held in alinement with each other by horizontal side rods 5--5 and bottom wires or rods 66. These wires or rods are welded, brazed or soldered to the curved wires at their points of intersection with the latter. The curved portions of each of the wires 2, 3 or 4 are substantially alike so that this arrangement produces a rack having the two pockets or recesses above mentioned.

For the purpose of supporting the rack in the food compartment of a refrigerator, the ends of the front and rear curved wires 2 and 4 are expreferred embodiment of my invention, it will tended upwardly and terminate in hooks 1 which are adapted to be engaged with the cross wires of a refrigerator shelf, such as those shown at 8 in Fig. 1. When the rack is so suspended in the food chamber it will support bottles in a hori- 5 zontal position immediately below the refrigerator shelf to which the rack is attached. The lateral curvature of .the pockets is such that any substantial sidewisemovement oLthe bottles is prevented. In addition, the rearward movement 10 of the bottles is definitely limited by stops 99 provided at the rear end of each pocket. These stops may conveniently be formed by making the two elements 6 of a pocket parallel to each other and connecting them at one end by a bridge piece which is bent at approximately right angles to the elements themselves, as will be clear from an inspection of the drawing. It will be observed that certain of these wires 6 which extend lengthwise of the pocket form a track on which the bottle may slide into or out of the pocket.

Such a rack, therefore, supports bottles closely adjacent to the lower side of a refrigerator shelf where they offer a minimum of interference with the placing of other receptacles, containers or articles of food in the refrigerator. In other words, the bottles occupy none of the shelf space. Several such racks may be used in the refrigerator, therefore, without interfering in any way with thenormal use of the space in the food chamber for other purposes. In addition, the

other racks may be conveniently moved from one location to another in the chamber.

While I have herein shown and described a be understood that the invention may be em-. bodied,in other forms. For example, the rack can be made of pressed metal, but I prefer the wire construction for the reason that it can be manufactured more economically. Regardless of whether the rack is made of pressed metal or wire construction it will be quite. evident, due to its curved constructure and the nature of the material from which it is made, that the rack is inherently flexible in lateral directions.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim asnew is:

1. A rack adapted to be suspended from a refrigerator shelf and comprising a support having 60 crossed wires secured together, some of said wires cooperating with others extending transversely to them to form a plurality of separate pockets each adapted to receive and hold a bottle in a reclining position, said pockets lying side by side parallel to each other and having a dividing means between them to hold adjacent bottles separated from each other, and arms extending upwardly from said support and provided with hook portionsat their upper ends for engaging said shelf and suspending the rack therefrom.

2. A rack adapted to be suspended from a. refrigerator shelf and comprising a support having crossed wires secured together, some of said wires being bent and cooperating with others extending transversely to them to provide a plurality of cradle-like pockets lying side by side and parallel to each other but separated from each other, each of said pockets being adapted to receive and support a bottle in a substantially horizontal position, a stop at the rearward end of each pocket to engage the end of the botle therein, and arms extending upwardly from the sides of said support adjacent to the corners thereof and each terminating in a hook for suspending the rack from a refrigerator shelf and holding it in an approximately horizontal position immediately belovw said shelf.

3. A rack adapted to be suspended from a refrigerator shelf and comprising a support made essentially of crossed wires secured together, some of-said wires'cooperating with others extending transversely to them to form a plurality of separate pockets each adapted to receive and hold a bottle in a reclining position, said pockets lying side by side parallel to each other and having a dividing means between them to hold adjacent bottles separated from each other, certain of said wires extending longitudinally of said pockets and being supported on transverse wires to provide a track on which a bottle may slide into and out of the pocket.

CHARLES L. HIBBARD, JR. 

